The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Buffalo Bills 27-24 in an all-time thrilling playoff matchup on Sunday night from Highmark Stadium.
There were five lead changes in the game, with Isaiah Pacheco scoring the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass shanked what what would’ve been the game-tying field goal with under two minutes left in the game.
The Chiefs will go on the road to face the Ravens for the AFC Championship next Sunday at 3 p.m. from M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore did not face Kansas City in the regular season.
The Chiefs have not faced the Ravens since 2010, meaning likely league MVP and Patrick Mahomes have never faced in the postseason.
Travis Kelce and the Chiefs are just a game away from the Super Bowl after beating the Bills
Taylor Swift was in attendance to see the Chiefs defeat the Bills in the AFC Divisional round
The Buffalo Bills led at four different times during the game, but couldn’t defeat Kansas City
Kelce scored a touchdown by finding the end zone’s pilon and outrunning a Buffalo defender
Swift arrived at Highmark Stadium with an entourage that included model and actress Cara Delevingne.
Swift shared a luxury box with Jason and Kylie Kelce, Travis’ older brother and sister-in-law, with the 12-time Grammy winner meeting the Philadelphia Eagles center and his wife for the first time in Buffalo.
After Travis Kelce scored his first touchdown of the game, his first in eight games, he was seen holding his hands in a heart sign in the direction of the luxury box with his girlfriend and family.
The cameras then panned to Jason Kelce shirtless, screaming in excitement while holding a Bud Light.
The elder Kelce was then seen jumping out of the luxury box and into the crowd, while still shirtless, to drink beers with fans.
All while this was going on, Kylie Kelce remained in the luxury box, unfazed by her husband’s behavior.
Kelce scored his second touchdown of the game on the opening drive of the second half.
Jason Kelce’s future has been a prominent topic in the NFL this week after the Eagles’ blow-out playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rumors surfaced Tuesday morning that Kelce told Eagles’ teammates in the locker room after the defeat he was retiring. Both Kelce brother have refuted the reports, stating no decision has been made.
Swift around a dozen of Kelce’s games this season, starting with the September 24 Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears, where she and her now-boyfriend were seen in public together for the first time.
Josh Allen’s celebrity girlfriend, actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld, was also reportedly at Highmark Stadium for the game, but was not shown on the broadcast.
Steinfeld, an Oscar nominee, and Allen’s relationship has gotten nowhere the amount of press Swift and Kelce have drummed up.
Jason Kelce partially stole the show by drinking beers shirtless from the family luxury box
The Chiefs will face the Baltimore Ravens with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line next week
Travis Kelce scored two touchdowns vs Buffalo and acknowledged Swift after one score
‘This is a great environment, we were here to prove a point,’ Mahomes said postgame.
‘The defense turned it on in the fourth quarter,’ he added. “That’s a great player in Josh Allen, the defense said ‘enough is enough.”
The Bills got their Divisional round rematch against the Chiefs two seasons after their epic overtime clash that prompted the NFL to change its overtime rules.
Kansas City and Buffalo scored 25 combined points and had four lead changes in the final two minutes of regulation during the 2022 contest, leading to overtime.
The Chiefs won the coin toss and promptly scored the game-winning touchdown, thereby denying the Bills the ball in the extra frame. Now, both teams must get an offensive possession in overtime at the end of an NFL postseason game.
The Bills had won the last two meetings between the teams, while Kansas City hasn’t beaten Buffalo in regulation in the last four meetings.
Oddly enough, the last five meetings between the teams had all taken place at Arrowhead Stadium before Sunday’s clash. The Chiefs hadn’t played in Buffalo since 2020.
Patrick Mahomes won his first ever true road playoff game against Buffalo on Sunday
A Mecole Hardman fourth quarter fumble into the end zone didn’t end up proving costly
Facing a 4th-and-5, down three points early in the fourth quarter and deep into its own territory, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott called a fake punt with Damar Hamlin carrying the ball.
Hamlin was stopped well short of the first-down line, and the play resulted in a turnover on downs.
The Chiefs couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, with Mecole Hardman fumbling the ball out of the end zone, resulting in a touchback and the Bills regaining the Ball.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said the league will look into the rules about fumbling the ball out of the end zone in December.
Most believe the current NFL rule doesn’t fit in with the rest of the league’s procedures because it unfairly punishes the offense and rewards the defense.
Rule 8, Section 7, Article 3, Item 4a of the NFL’s rulebook is expected to be changed in March.
In a luxury box, Swift was seen with Jason, Kylie, and Donna Kelce cheering on the Chiefs
Fans in Buffalo were ready for Taylor Swift’s arrival at their stadium, braving the cold weather
The game featured plenty of pushing and shoving between the teams, who knew it was a legacy game for both starting quarterbacks.
For Mahomes, playing in his first true road postseason game in his NFL career, could vanquish one of his greatest rivals again, and further cement his resume toward elite all-time status.
Allen had been on the cusp of being under Hall of Fame consideration, but had the stigma of never getting the Bills to a Super Bowl in his career, despite being an integral figure of one of the league’s best teams of the decade.